Content creation has become extremely competitive. If you're a creator today, there's a good chance you're simply blending in.
Acquiring a light set of effective web development skills will allow you to build a site that stands out and help elevate your online presence.
Problems with Out of the Box Services
Risk of Blending In
Recently, a friend shared his Substack newsletter with me. It was my first time using Substack, so it suggested several other creators based on my interests.
That Saturday, I received my friend's newsletter. It looked professional, and I thought, "Nice product, Substack." However, the next day, I received a dozen emails from other Substack creators, all selling me their paid subscriptions. Each one had the exact same layout and pitch.
Guess how many subscriptions I purchased.
Zero.
Guess how many times I've read those newsletters since.
Zero.
Subscription Costs
Services like these can be costly. Monthly subscription fees and add-ons quickly add up. These costs drain profits during the early stages of a business. Some services charge as much as 10% of gross revenue, without a cap.
Fighting the Framework
On these platforms, you'll quickly find that when you want to customize the layout, you run into the limitations of the framework. If you've ever had a Wordpress site, you know what I mean – seeing the exact same sidebar on every page gets boring for the reader.
That's when you'll begin "fighting the framework," trying to get it to do things it wasn't intended to. You do a deep dive to find workarounds, cycle through janky plugins, or simply settle for the available features. Eventually, someone tells you about another service that's supposedly better. So you start the process all over again.
Rules & Restrictions
Many services, if you don't play by their rules, won't hesitate to deplatform you. Don't expect due process. Many YouTubers have had their income drop to nothing after being demonetized. So what do many of them do? They launch their own platform.
Grow on Public Platforms. Sell on Yours.
Building your audience on social platforms is essential. Just make sure that when you direct them to your site to purchase your products, the site looks first-class.
A professional sales landing page increases customer confidence. Visitors need to know you're a legitimate vendor. This can make or break a sale. If it looks like you hired your retired neighbor to build your site in his basement over the weekend, it's time for a relaunch.
Invest in Differentiating Your Brand
If you don't invest time in differentiating the look and feel of your content from the competition, you and your brand could come off as "basic." High-profile creators understand this and invest in their own sites to provide a unique customer experience. Here’s why…
- Independence and Control: They can manage their websites, blogs, and online stores without the limitations of out-of-the-box solutions.
- Customization: They can tailor custom platforms to better fit their brand and unique requirements.
- Diversification They launch products and interactive experiences that enhance user engagement and drive revenue.
Advantages of Learning to Web Development
When you acquire web development skills, you can outperform people in your space with higher budgets.
Here's the edge you'll gain…
- Cost Efficiency: Learning to code can reduce the costs associated with hiring developers for small changes and maintenance.
- Marketability: Coding skills can make you more marketable, allowing you to offer additional services or enhance current offerings.
- Innovation: Coding opens new avenues for unique content creation, such as developing your own apps, interactive media, and advanced web functionalities.
How to Get Started
Learn the Basics: Start with beginner-friendly courses that focus on HTML, CSS. You'll eventually want to learn some light JavaScript, but you can get far with the first two.
Conclusion
Being a content creator requires a lot of skills – skills that can be acquired inexpensively online. You are more than capable of learning them.
If you have questions or need help getting started, reach out @AndrewHenderson